Ideas into Action.

Thank you so much to the parents who already posted their comments here on this site. We are grateful to you and we need your support to demonstrate that we are a community also, and part of the Southwater community. This post has a summary of the ideas we discussed on Thursday 9th July, 2 days after the disappointing Horsham District Council meeting. Life, they say, is not about what happens to you, but about how you respond to what happens to you. So, how are we going to respond? Well, what if what has happened is for a reason?

“If you can conceive it, and you can believe it, you can achieve it!” (Napoleon Hill).

I believe those wise words were true, and remain so today. Napoleon Hill continues to inspire people to reach for their dreams. Give a dream a deadline and it becomes a vision. Put a vision into action and it becomes reality. Everything starts in our imagination.
So let’s imagine that we find a new home for the school in the next year, and let’s make it a great one.
I invite you all to contribute ideas to the list below, and to keep your eyes & ears open for any possible openings in or around the village. We are committed to providing a quality Montessori early years setting for your children!
Here’s the list of the possible action points we discussed at last week’s meeting:

Action Plan Southwater

1) Locate to a different site

Actions

• Make enquiries about local buildings that are of a sufficient size and have parking;
• Enquire about dis-used or under-used commercial or residential buildings;
• Register at Estate Agents for the possibility of large homes, spare barns, disused farm or industrial buildings or any new builds;
• Enquire re local land available for a new build (temporary classrooms easy to get);

2) Start a “ Save Our Nursery Campaign”

Actions

• Set up Facebook Campaign to include past and present parents (Dawn?);
• Set up a campaign website (Thank you Tim!)
• Make banners for outside property and ask for banner to be displayed on roundabout;
• See if we can ‘adopt a roundabout;’
• Ask parents if they will issue a statement;
• Appeal against decision on Easteds Barn;
• Put our point of view across in County Times and/or The Resident, etc;
• o Talk to Fletcher Trust;
• o Talk to Southwater Parish Council;

3) Be More Visual and Personal in the Community.

Actions

• Advertise the benefits we offer:
  • flexibility;
  • open 8 to 6 all year round (50 weeks) including school holidays;
  • Montessori Quality accredited;
  • good Ofsted rating (June 2010);
  • graduate leadership;
  • beautiful outdoor area;
  • accept full range of tax credit voucher schemes,
  • flexibility in how we offer Free Entitlement;
  • possible to get Montessori education completely free of charge (with government funding);
  • able to cater for older children (up to age 8, helpful during school holidays), etc;
• Attend Village events and fairs;
• Advertise in the local Doctors’ Surgery, Nursery and Library;
• Hold a Montessori Playgroup morning;
• Hold a Sports Day;
• Distribute flyers/leaflets (parents have offered help creating and distributing);
• On Southwater Bonfire night leaflet the gate (maybe sponsor);
• Hold a leavers’ picnic/BBBQ in the evening of July 22nd, 5:30pm- 7:30pm, sell tickets at 50p each (food included), also hold a raffle & invite reporters from WSCT & The Resident;
• Have a stall at the October Blackberry fair at Castlewood;
• Take part in Christmas Fayre in December;
• Post information on Horsham Forum/Southwater Forum;
• Have displays by children (library?), sell cakes and display leaflets.